Main Quest
by Leii-Leii
Summary: Tsuna was sent to a world with status windows and quest objectives, but something seemed amiss. Y'know, aside from the fact he's stuck in a video game. VideoGame!AU, mild All27
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Katekyo Hitman Reborn is not mine.

 _ **Proofread and Edited:** December 27, 2016_

Cover image is drawn by me.

* * *

 **Main Quest**

* * *

Tsuna couldn't exactly remember when or how it happened, but he was pretty sure he remembered _why_.

It was during a talk between him and Byakuran. "The infinite amounts of parallel universes, alternate realities, seemingly impossible dimensions are mind-boggling," Byakuran had said in the middle of a private dinner he requested. "I went through some of them during my journey of self-reflection."

"I don't think I want to hear about it —

"A lot of them are so, _so_ entertaining, Tsu-chan," Byakuran had smiled, holding up his wine glass. "In fact, I would love to let you experience one of them. It's a much-needed break."

Tsuna didn't remember agreeing. Although, he was reassured by that guy it was all "reversible and temporary".

The next thing he knew, when he woke up and opened his eyes, he was laying down on a bed in a bedroom as fancy as his own.

* * *

It seemed in this world, he was the only _outsider_ , if one could call it that.

"Good morning, Tsu-kun!" His mother greeted him as he exited his bedroom, just like every morning. "Have you told the maids what you would have for breakfast?"

"Good morning to you too, mother. I told them I'd like Eggs Benedict for today."

"Splendid!" Nana did a little clap. "Then we shall see each other at the breakfast table later." She left the hallway, followed by a couple of her personal attendants.

Tsuna then headed to their tallest tower, a place he had learned to enjoy over the weeks. When standing at the tower's balcony you could see the entirety of the Namimori town plus a few roads heading out to the mountains and forests.

As he leaned on the balcony railings and decided to watch the town plaza for today, Tsuna sighed.

At first, Tsuna thought it was a bad dream. A really, really horrible nightmare. One that he'd eventually wake upfrom and then find out he's sleeping in the Vongola mansion all this time. But once the hours turned into days, and the days turned into weeks, the feeling had subsided and he surrendered himself to this twist of fate. Byakuran did promise him it was reversible, right? And only temporary? But he couldn't remember how long it would be, if Byakuran even said anything about it.

Tsuna decided to learn more about this place if he was going to be here for a while. Everything — the world — seemed to be in that fantasy, medieval setting, a theme that was very common with the RPGs he used to play. The concept of character classes, magic and monsters were normal; modern technology like computers and smart phones were either non-existent or replaced with something similar through magical devices. It was all very cliche, Tsuna had thought, when he found himself dabbling with their kitchen utensils and popup windows would appear with the skill requirements to use them.

Naturally, the next thing to figure out was what was _his_ place in this world?

Apparently, the town was named Namimori, and they were the Sawada family, the nobles of this land and its owners. He, Sawada Tsunayoshi, was the son of Count Iemitsu and Countess Nana, rendering him the Viscount. He was also at the same age before he was _transported_ , which was twenty-three. He had no other siblings which was unusual for a noble family holding this much estate.

To be honest, Tsuna didn't know what his responsibilities were as his mother always prevented him from doing anything. _Your father's still alive and well,_ she had told him, _so let the man do everything. Enjoy your life and freedom, Tsu-kun!_

So it wasn't surprising when Tsuna accessed his character window and discovered he was skill-less at age twenty-three. He didn't even have a character class, but that only meant he had the freedom to choose later. Guilds were easily accessible and he only had to pass their test to be eligible for a character class.

Tsuna had been so very confused. Normally, when you create a new character in an MMORPG, you are placed in the wild and you could do whatever the heck you wanted. But here, he already had an established _role_ (the son of a count) and he even owned a whole town. So what was _he_ , really?

* * *

The answer came to him one day.

Tsuna already lost count. Had it been a month? Maybe two. Or maybe even three. He honestly couldn't remember anymore.

"Good morning, Tsu-kun!" His mother greeted him outside his bedroom door. "Have you told the maids what you would have for breakfast?"

"Good morning to you too, mother. I told them I'd like pancakes for today."

"Splendid! Then we shall see each other at the breakfast table later." Just like every morning.

But this time, Tsuna decided to sleep some more before breakfast. He stayed up a little later last night reading up on the concepts of elemental magic. When his mother left the area, Tsuna went back to his room and laid down on his fancy bed.

Not even a few minutes later, the door opened and a guy started rummaging through his cabinets.

"O-oi!" Tsuna sat up from his bed to glare at the intruder. "What are you doing?!" The guy was wearing a full plate armor but the make of the armor and the engravings didn't look like one of their Knights'.

That stopped the guy and he turned around to face Tsuna. "Was that you?"

Tsuna's heart skipped a beat. That voice was familiar . . .

Then the guy laughed. "It was just my imagination —

"That's rude, you know. I'm still here," Tsuna pouted and finally left his bed to stand up. He tried to look intimidating but that was impossible with his bunny-printed pajamas.

"It IS you!" the guy squealed and took off his helmet.

Okay, now Tsuna was sure he knew this guy. _Takeshi._ Did Takeshi get transported here too? Did he recognize him despite his bunny pajamas and permanently orange eyes —

"Is this an event?" Takeshi asked the room as if it would answer back. "It's an event, isn't it?"

Tsuna was so very confused. "Who are you talking to?"

Takeshi's eyes widened and he dropped his helmet in favor of pulling out his sword. "Are you a boss?"

"Am I — what the heck are you talking about!" Tsuna's head was starting to hurt that he had to sit himself down on his bed.

Takeshi lowered his sword, and when Tsuna didn't move for a few minutes, he sheathed it back and picked up his helmet. "If you're a boss, you're not an aggressive one. It's just, this is the first time somebody talked back to me . . ."

Okay, now Tsuna was very, very confused. A million times confused. "Can you please tell me what's going on?"

Tsuna saw Takeshi's eyebrows furrow, like those times he did when he was thinking of something serious. "Normally the NPCs would just ignore me unless I talk to them first."

 _NPC?_

"NPC?" Tsuna's eyes widened.

"O-oh, right," Takeshi chuckled. "Game terms. Um, the villagers? Ignore me most of the time, unless I initiate the conversation . . . which is standard, now that I think about it . . ."

But Tsuna perfectly knew what Takeshi — if this was even Takeshi — was talking about. Of course Tsuna knew about NPCs and how it was a game term and how they functioned. Non-player characters, or NPCs, are characters that were controlled by the game to give life to the world. They were the shop owners that provides the players items, or the bankers that lets players have extra storage, or the quest givers, or class trainers, or the guards protecting the towns and a whole lot of other things.

But in this case . . .

Tsuna learned the answer to his question.

He was an NPC. Apparently, the NPC family that governed Namimori, to be precise.

B-but he could function now like a player character, right? He even had a character window —

That had _zero_ skills. And no character class.

. . . At least he had maximum reputation for Namimori residents.

* * *

x

* * *

 **Notes:** Hi, I'm going to be honest by saying this was a funny idea that came to me seeing all the videogame!AUs, but it doesn't have a high probability of surviving . . . I just had to post it here so I won't forget.


	2. Chapter 2

_Posted: March 24, 2016_

 _Proofread and Edited: December 27, 2016_

There are some questions about pairings. Mmm, if there's going to be a pairing it will be mild All27 because I am a sucker for that (just check my fics). Anyway, there might be hints here and there but it won't be the main focus. (You can read my other story if you want funny All27 *hint hint*) Also I tend to use game terminology a lot . . . if there are things you're confused about please don't hesitate to ask!

Thanks for the support!

* * *

 **Chapter 02**

* * *

Tsuna was still having trouble accepting the fact he was an NPC when pseudo-Takeshi spoke up again.

"Oh! I need to tell my party members!"

Tsuna blanched. So, this _thing,_ universe-thing or whatever, _was_ an MMORPG rather than a single-player game and there were _other_ players actively participating in the game. Which was very weird, Tsuna thought, because he was pretty sure he'd been in this universe for several weeks now and he had never sensed anything different. Except for today.

He suddenly had a revelation. That explained why Countess Nana loved to repeat her sentences and why everybody in this mansion had a routine. And how he never, ever found it strange that _he_ also had a similar routine everyday. It just made too much sense!

 _Bang!_

"You bastard, why are you so reckless?! What if there's a trap in here —

Tsuna's heart stopped again. It was Hayato banging his way through his bedroom door.

" _Maa maa,_ you're here already? What about the others?"

"They're on their way! Why don't you try checking your map for once?"

Tsuna decided to be rational. These people — players — may look, speak and act like Takeshi and Hayato, but they were not _his_ Takeshi and Hayato. He should handle this situation with that in mind. "Excuse me?" He tried to get their attention as he stood up from his bed. "Can anybody tell me what's going on —

"Aaaaaaaaaaah!" Hayato pointed an accusatory finger at him. "H-he's talking to us!"

"Haha, I know right?" Takeshi grinned. "It's really weird! Maybe it's a glitch?"

"You idiot, how can _this_ be a glitch? It's impossible unless it's intentionally programmed —

"Oh! Maybe this is a game secret?"

Tsuna sighed. They act too much like his Guardians so it was hard not to think of them as such. "'This glitch' has a name. I'm Tsuna."

Hayato stared. Takeshi continued grinning.

Then Hayato rushed to him and grabbed his hands. "Tsuna," he gulped.

Tsuna stared back. "Yes?"

Hayato's eyes widened and it looked like he was about to cry. "Y-you're real!" He turned his head to Takeshi. "He's real!"

"A real — ?

Hayato's head snapped back at him. "A real UMA! Or maybe in this case, an unidentified mysterious phenomenon?"

Tsuna almost had his hopes up. He thought they had a "Tsuna" in their real lives and that Tsuna died, and then he was reincarnated in a video game as _him._ Like a cliche story with a funny and interesting twist. Actually, now that Tsuna thought about it, maybe in a different universe something like that happened for real . . . But anyway, this only meant they had never met a "Tsuna" before in their lives. His name or his appearance didn't seem to ring a bell with these two. To them, he was a complete stranger.

Or a glitch, like how they described him.

Hayato was mumbling. "Inspect . . . " Then he took out a pad and pen and began scribbling. "Viscount Sawada Tsunayoshi, age twenty-three, prince of Namimori."

Tsuna frowned. It seemed _Inspect_ was a skill to look at a unit's characteristics.

Hayato continued. "Tsuna is a useless and _dame_ son of the prestigious Sawada family. He has no skills and no ambitions, but his mother, Countess Nana, loves him very much, and dotes on him a little too much. He grew up spoiled with everything available to him and has no desire to persevere and work hard. He likes home-made food and has a cat named Natsu."

Tsuna wanted to cry. He didn't know where Hayato got that information but that meant that was his character description all along! Tsuna was having flashbacks of his younger years . . .

And then he snapped back to reality. "S-so," Tsuna began, fidgeting with the hem of his pajama top, "What are you guys doing in my mansion?" He might as well act like an NPC, for all the good it would do.

Hayato frowned as he stored his pad and pen back in his backpack. "We're just passing by . . ." Without waiting for a response, he suddenly turned around and faced Takeshi. "Oi, Yamamoto. Don't use game terminology around Tsuna-ouji-sama."

Tsuna felt his face heating up. _Ouji-sama?_ That was even more embarrassing than being called _jyuudaime!_

"Right, right, because he wouldn't understand," Takeshi nodded along and smiled.

Tsuna wanted to correct the two of them. He _could_ understand. But he realized it would make things way more complicated and he didn't want that.

"Oh!" Takeshi exclaimed, looking at Tsuna, "Does that mean we're going to roleplay for real? Haha, I like roleplaying!"

"I told you not to use game terminologies!"

Just what kind of a messed up situation this was . . . Tsuna swore he was going to hunt down a nice, marshmallow-loving person once he escapes this crazy alternate universe.

Hayato turned back to him. "Don't pay too much attention to that idiot, Tsuna-ouji-sama! For now, please let me introduce myself." Then he knelt down in front of him. Tsuna fought the urge to pull him up like how he usually did when Hayato was doing this in his actual, normal life. "I am Gokudera Hayato, an Engineer specializing in crossbows and explosives. I am honored to make your acquaintance."

Suddenly, Takeshi followed suit and knelt down beside Hayato. "Yamamoto Takeshi at your service. A Knight for the land of Vongola."

Tsuna's head was reeling. This exceeded the amount of craziness he was used to!

"Please don't be so formal," Tsuna sighed, sitting back on his bed. "And besides, it's not really appropriate in this situation! We're in my bedroom and I'm still wearing my pajamas!"

Once he said that, it seemed to have triggered something in Hayato that he blushed furiously and bowed down his head. "I'm very sorry for intruding, Tsuna-ouji-sama! When we entered we didn't realize this is your bedroom —

Takeshi piped up. "Actually there's an indicator on the map —

"Shut up you idiot! Pay your respects to the Prince of Namimori!"

Hayato was taking this roleplaying thing a bit too seriously, Tsuna thought.

"Anyway, shouldn't we report this to the admins?" Takeshi was now sitting down on the carpeted floor and seemed to be fiddling with the game interface. "Oh, but there are no online gamemasters right now."

Hayato glared at the other guy. "And what would you say to them?" He grumbled while keeping his voice down, as if Tsuna wouldn't be able to hear him, "'We found a sentient AI in an unfinished town'? I refuse to hand him over to them!"

Tsuna's face met his palm. Hayato was treating him like his property . . .

Takeshi shrugged. "Well, what are you planning to do with him?"

Hayato looked like he was very, very close to pulling out a dynamite from his belt and potentially throwing it on Takeshi's face. "Are you not the least bit curious why _this_ happened? Until we figure out what caused it I think I want to keep him around!"

"But he's a noble prince so he should stay here."

"He's also a sentient NPC so why does that matter?"

"If that's your argument then you don't even know if Tsuna wants to go with you," Takeshi now had a serious look on his face. "As you said he's sentient, so you should let him decide if he wants to stick around."

Hayato was still glaring, but he remained silent. Tsuna couldn't believe he just witnessed a rare scene where Takeshi won over a verbal argument against Hayato. But of course, these people weren't _his_ Takeshi and Hayato . . . Tsuna should remember to keep that in mind at all times.

Hayato pouted. "Right, normally you can convince an NPC to follow you with the right amount of affinity points . . . crap."

Tsuna remained quiet through their ordeal. On one hand, he himself wanted to know what caused this situation because it might lead him to the exit, but on the other hand he was kind of curious on what they'd do.

 _Boom!_

An explosion caused the room to be filled with smoke and dust. Tsuna was glad he was already sitting on his bed because that meant he could just lie down and hide himself under his blanket amidst the smoke and dust. Which he did because he remembered he still wanted to sleep. Maybe Byakuran was already on his way to reverse this mess. Maybe he could just forget he saw Takeshi and Hayato and pretend _they_ were the NPCs.

Maybe when he wakes up, he'd be back in the Vongola mansion.

* * *

When Tsuna woke up he was still in the fancy, video game bedroom. The only difference was it was dustier than usual and there were three people sitting on the floor beside his bed.


	3. Chapter 3

_March 27, 2016_

 _Proofread and Edited: December 27, 2016_

Thanks for the support!

* * *

 **Chapter 03**

* * *

"He's awake!" Ryohei, or who seemed to be Ryohei, exclaimed from his spot on the floor.

Tsuna glanced at him briefly before looking a little bit behind their group. Apparently his bedroom door was destroyed with the explosion.

"Sorry about the door, I thought these guys were trapped in here," at least Ryohei had the decency to apologize. It's not like Tsuna cared about his fake bedroom door after all. Now, if this was his door at the Vongola mansion . . . it would be a very different story.

"It's okay," Tsuna mumbled after a few seconds of silence.

Ryohei gasped. "EXTREME! He responds!"

Hayato scowled. "Tch, and you wouldn't believe us just minutes ago."

Ryohei gasped again. "Can we keep him?!"

This time Hayato stood up in anger. "Tsuna-ouji-sama is not a pet!"

 _But you were thinking of keeping me earlier too . . ._ Tsuna thought in dismay.

In the meantime, Takeshi had his usual grin on. "Haha, you haven't even introduced yourself to him."

"Right you are, Yamamoto!" Ryohei gasped for the third time as he, too, stood up and placed a fist on his chest and faced Tsuna. "Please call me MaximumPower —

"Goddamn idiot! Don't use your username!" Hayato was seriously freaking out. "Use your real name!"

Ryohei stared at him in disbelief. "What's the difference?"

Before Hayato could even begin shouting profanities at the guy, Takeshi interfered just at the very right moment. "We're roleplaying! So your username is not your _real_ name, right? It's more like a title!"

Hayato found his voice. "Usernames are _not_ titles —

"I see! I understand!" Ryohei nodded, and as if to restart his introduction, he placed his fist again on his chest. "I'm Sasagawa Ryohei, but please call me MaximumPower —

"WRONG!" Hayato snapped.

"Just call him Ryohei, okay Tsuna?" Takeshi smiled.

Tsuna couldn't help but smile back. "Okay."

Hayato sat back down on the carpeted floor, dragging Ryohei down with him. Then he gathered the three of them to discuss about something and this time he actually did it right as Tsuna couldn't hear what they were talking about.

Watching them huddle together made Tsuna feel nostalgic. Which was pretty silly, since it implied he had been separated from his normal, non-video-game life for so long that he was forming nostalgia. It _shouldn't_ be the case and Tsuna would die first to let it take over him. So he tried his best to remind himself that _no,_ these people were not _his_ family, _this_ situation was temporary, and that he would return home eventually. And as for his normal life? His family back home would be okay. They had a contingency plan just for cases like this in the event Tsuna suddenly disappeared. Hopefully Byakuran told them this, whatever thing he did but for that part, Tsuna wasn't hoping for the best.

Even then, Tsuna was confident everything would turn out all right. His Hyper Intuition continuously reminded him it would be okay, somehow. One way or another.

"Where's everybody else, anyway?" Tsuna heard Takeshi ask his two party members.

Hayato sighed. "Like I said, use your map." He took out his own map from his backpack and spread it on the floor. Suddenly there were little blips of light that showed up in the different parts of the map. "Those bastards! That's why nobody's responding to our party chat; they're all AFK!"

Due to his current situation and how the party members that showed up in his bedroom were all his Guardians, Tsuna pretty much caught on the pattern. He wouldn't be surprised if the rest of the party members in this world were Lambo and the others.

So Tsuna tried to take a closer look at the map too. The names hovering above the little blips of light were the usernames, but Tsuna couldn't see them all clearly, except for one whose username was AmazingLambo. _Ahh,_ how strangely comforting to know he was so familiar with his friends, he already knew what to expect even in a different universe.

"Oh!" Takeshi pointed at one of the blips. "Hibari-san's moving."

Tsuna's eyes zeroed on the username above that blip.

 _Hibassassin._

Tsuna had to turn away and bury his face into his pillows because he was _this_ close to laughing out loud.

Apparently this was cause for alarm. "What happened?!" Hayato yelled all of a sudden, almost throwing away his map in the process.

"Maybe he malfunctioned?" Takeshi offered.

 _This is just too much,_ Tsuna thought as he wheezed into the pillows to stop himself from giggling. "I'm fine," his voice was muffled amidst the fluffy pillows. That was just . . . he couldn't even think it was weird. It was a very Kyouya thing to name his character with such a silly name but it still caught him off guard.

"He's going to the opposite direction," Ryohei exclaimed, turning the other two guys' attention back to the map.

"That guy! He always does this," Hayato sighed as he stored the map in his backpack. "Anyway, we can't have a serious discussion if not all members are around . . ."

Tsuna finally calmed down and he sat up, watching his not-friends sit on his floor looking very confused and lost. "So," he began, catching their attention again, "What are you guys going to do?"

There was complete silence for a few seconds before Takeshi laughed. "I don't know." Hayato and Ryohei didn't even have anything to refute him with.

Tsuna frowned. "What were you guys doing before you got here?"

"Honest? We're walking through the area for exploration points —

"He means exploration _experience_ , Tsuna-ouji-sama," Hayato chimed in while glaring at Takeshi. "We're aiming to get to know the lay of the land."

 _Ahh, achievement points,_ Tsuna thought wistfully.

Takeshi nodded along anyway. "We already explored most of this region except for this town. It's at the farthest area from the Capital . . . not to mention it required unconventional means to get into."

Now _that_ was something Tsuna was interested in knowing. He had seen both a map of Namimori and a map of the Vongola region so he knew Takeshi was telling the truth about the town's location. However, during the times he was hanging out in the mansion's tallest tower, he had seen travelers come and go from all directions. In all the historical books he had read, there weren't any mentions about the difficulties of traveling from in and out of town. So that part was strange, and that was already saying something considering his situation.

Tsuna tilted his head. "What do you mean 'unconventional'?"

Ryohei pumped his fist. "Chrome found an explo —

"What this idi — _Monk_ means is that we have a magic-user in our group that found some special properties about this town using her magic. That's all! And we used that special property to arrive in this town. But please rest assured it is completely _possible_ to get here through _conventional_ means, isn't that right, Yamamoto, Sasagawa?" He was holding onto his dynamites with both hands for effect. Or for threat. Most probably for threat, Tsuna concluded.

And they were definitely hiding something.

It probably wasn't important information, Tsuna mused, but it was still a curious thought.

As for this meeting . . . maybe this was just a huge coincidence. Even though these people were a great part of his normal life, that didn't automatically mean they would also be a part of his "life" here. They said they were just passing by, didn't they? They would leave and Tsuna would be back to waiting for that fateful day when Byakuran decides he had enough entertainment. Not that it was a bad thing; just a different reality.

Oh well, at least he wouldn't feel bad doing nothing. That was his character description, after all.

 _Time to move on._

"Then, if you'll excuse me," Tsuna stood up from his bed and dusted off the dirt from his bunny-printed pajamas, "I was about to go to breakfast. And I probably have to set up a meeting with a carpenter to fix my door."

"I can fix the door for you!" Hayato yelled. "I have skills in Woodworking and I'm an Engineer!"

 _Not my Hayato,_ Tsuna's thoughts echoed.

"I am very, very sorry!" Ryohei did a _dogeza_ with all his might.

 _Not my Ryohei,_ Tsuna chanted in his head.

"Why don't you eat your breakfast while we fix your door?" Takeshi grinned.

 _Not my Takeshi,_ Tsuna's mind reeled.

"I don't want to keep you from your adventure," Tsuna returned the smile and quickly headed for the doorway. Best to walk away now and leave before these people changed his mind. _Time to move on._

* * *

When Tsuna finished breakfast and returned to his room, not only his bedroom door was fixed, but there were now four people having a discussion in his freaking bedroom.


	4. Chapter 4

_Proofread and Edited: December 27, 2016_

Thanks for all the feedback! I'm trying a different style in this story compared to my other one, so the chapters are shorter than I would normally do them. They're also full of conversations (for the better or worse?) The downside to this is the plot goes slower than I'd like . . . but we'll see where it goes.

Thanks for the support!

* * *

 **Chapter 04**

* * *

It was Kyoko who first noticed his arrival.

"Aah! Nii-chan, it's the quest giver," Kyoko cheered, gesturing to him as he stood at the door. "And just in time, too!"

Tsuna had a lot of questions running in his mind.

One, he thought the pattern was predictable. He was expecting maybe Lambo or Chrome. Not _Kyoko!_ Why was she here?

Two, _quest giver?_

Three, just _in time_ for what?

Four, why was Hayato looking at him nervously?

Five, why were they all staring at him?

Six, were they expecting him to do anything?

Seven, why was Hayato becoming more panicky?

Eight, why was Ryohei subtly turning Kyoko around while talking to her?

Nine, why was Takeshi walking towards him —

"Tsuna," Takeshi leaned over to him as he was — as it had always been — much taller than him, "Due to various reasons we're keeping your true identity a secret from the Priestess, Kyoko." He then leaned even closer, much to Tsuna's growing discomfort, "So for now, please keep quiet? Gokudera and senpai will do all the talking."

Tsuna had to wonder what these guys were planning. This, whatever they thought this was, was apparently something they considered a "deep, dark secret", to the point of withholding information from a close friend. Tsuna couldn't really fault them for that because . . . he still remembered that time when they didn't tell Kyoko and Haru about the Mafia. It was a pretty lousy experience for everyone involved.

The difference between this and that? This time, Tsuna wasn't a part of it. He was an observer and more of a background character than anything. Besides, once he reminded himself these people weren't _his_ people, he had that morbid curiosity of wanting to know what they'd do without interference.

Conclusion: Tsuna nodded at Takeshi's request. Takeshi smiled back and straightened himself up, remaining at Tsuna's side.

Tsuna heard Ryohei speak up. "What are you doing here anyway, Kyoko?"

Tsuna frowned. From how Ryohei asked that question, he was not aware Kyoko intended to go here.

"Hana-chan made me a portal so I can go to you." She rummaged through her sling bag and took out a pair of glowing knuckles. "I got this drop from our dungeon run earlier! I thought maybe you'd want it."

"Did you have to portal though? We could have traded later in friendly territory —

"But this is a town, right? So it should be safe?"

"Yes, it is," Hayato answered for Ryohei, who seemed to be having trouble coming up with one. "Look, girl Sasagawa. As you already know, we're in the middle of a very important quest —

"Fixing a door?"

"It is _very_ _important!_ " Hayato reiterated, trying his best to maintain his calm. "And there's a follow-up quest, I could feel it. This will be a long quest chain. You know what that means."

"Hai, hai," Kyoko bobbed her head, and Tsuna swore he saw her look at _him_ with a questioning look on her eyes, before looking back at Hayato and Ryohei. "I only have a few seconds left anyway before I get warped out. _Please_ use this, onii-chan. I know it has better stats than you're using right now." She promptly shoved the knuckles on Ryohei's hands. "Remember, you're the healer of the party so you should focus on your healing magic, not your damage!"

Takeshi chuckled beside him. "Kyoko's a much better healer than senpai."

Kyoko waved at the lot of them. "See you later onii-chan. Dinner in an hour!" Then, in a flash of light, she vanished.

"I was extremely speechless!" Ryohei looked like he was going to cry.

"And it was for the better! Who knows what you could've said to her!" Hayato clicked his teeth before rushing towards Tsuna and bowing. "I am very sorry for what happened, Tsuna-ouji-sama!"

Tsuna was seriously at a loss. When one thought about it, Hayato was apologizing to an NPC . . . or at least who they thought was an NPC.

"You have your reasons," Tsuna sighed, and those reasons shouldn't be any concern to him. The longer they stayed here, the harder it would be for him to make them go away. He wanted to get _this_ over with. They had to leave _now,_ and with that in mind, he tapped his bedroom door. "Thank you for fixing my door." Well, maybe he could poke fun at them for a little bit. "I am sorry but I'm afraid I don't have a reward."

Hayato's eyes widened. "A reward — " Then as if the gears clicked into place, he suddenly became flustered, his face as red as a tomato. Tsuna tried his best to stop himself from laughing out loud and maintained a poker face. "I — though I did tell her w-w-we're on a quest that doesn't mean we're expecting a reward, Tsuna-ouji-sama! Please forgive me for being presumptuous!"

 _Presumptuous_? This guy exaggerated things as always. It was a very Hayato reaction . . . but _remember Tsuna, this isn't Hayato._ "It's okay," Tsuna replied, deciding he had enough fun. "Since you already fixed my door, please don't let me keep you." _Literally and figuratively._

Takeshi laughed nervously. "About that."

 _Oh no._ "Yes?" Tsuna smiled.

"I believe it was mentioned you're not doing anything here in your mansion," Takeshi coughed, looking everywhere else but him.

"Nothing of importance, though I do spend my days reading and studying." He was pretty much trying to learn how to get used to this kind of universe.

"Perfect!" Hayato cheered. "We know of a better way of educating yourself and learning new things!"

 _NO._ "Oh, pray tell."

"Not only it is a better way, it's the _best_ way!" Ryohei exclaimed.

 _No no no no._ "Really? What is it?"

Hayato grinned. "Going on an adventure, of course!"

 _NO._

 _No no no no no no no no NO._

Tsuna gulped before turning away. "One minute."

And then he ran.

* * *

They were serious.

Tsuna initially thought Hayato was just being cheeky. Same with Ryohei. He didn't actually think they were _seriously_ considering it.

Seriously considering of inviting him along to their party.

First of all, it was already established he was not a player character, so it wasn't like he was another player that could leave at any moment. He didn't know what his parents' reaction would be, or the NPCs in this mansion, or heck, even the townspeople he was lording over. It might be the catalyst for some very serious anomaly, something along the lines of "something happened which shouldn't happen", causing the universe to collapse unto itself. Okay, that last part was absurd, but he didn't know the rules of this universe! Just being able to access the game interface without a peripheral was already weird!

Second, he wanted to get away. He didn't want to stay with them for too long. They were . . . his family in _his_ universe. These people weren't the same, and he shouldn't treat them the same. Even though they have the same names, the same appearance, the same personalities — they were not _them_ and Tsuna was afraid he'd eventually forget his _real_ family if he stayed with these people for too long. It didn't feel right and it would never feel right.

Third, he was still hoping that Byakuran would one day fetch him and bring him back home. What if he left and Byakuran arrived, and he was nowhere around? What then?

Fourth, they were not his family.

Fifth, they were different! Not the same!

Sixth —

"Hiding in small, dark places is never a good idea, _herbivore_."

"HIIIIIIIEEEEE!"


	5. Chapter 5

_Posted: April 18, 2016_

 _Proofread and Edited: December 27, 2016_

Thank you so much for all the positive feedback. I agree this universe is a little crazy right now and hopefully Tsuna gets out alive rofl.

I think I may have used too many game/technical terms this chapter so I apologize in advance. Please let me know if you need more clarification, although I do hope the context the terms were used in is enough to explain what they meant.

Thanks for the support!

* * *

 **Chapter 05**

* * *

Tsuna ran.

Kyouya kept chase. But, really, did Tsuna expect anything less?

"Don't run, herbivore," Kyouya uttered in his usual, sinister way as he brandished two daggers with both hands. "It's futile."

Tsuna was doomed. If Kyouya was _deadly_ when using tonfas, he didn't want to know how the guy was when using daggers. Besides, why was Kyouya talking to him in the first place?! He was an NPC for all intents and purposes!

Fortunately, Hayato appeared at the most appropriate time at the hallway. "Oi, you bastard! Stop chasing Tsuna-ouji-sama! He's not aggressive!"

Tsuna took this opportunity to run behind Hayato, and consequently, behind Takeshi and Ryohei who appeared moments after. If this Kyouya was like _his_ Kyouya, then Tsuna knew what would happen next. Just as expected, Kyouya went straight for him and completely ignored Hayato —

And then his double daggers were blocked by a long, shiny katana.

"Haha, are we having a duel, Hibari-san?" Takeshi grinned as he attempted to disarm Kyouya, but the guy was faster and he dodged under Takeshi's arm. Tsuna's final line of defense was Ryohei who looked eager to fight anyway, so no worries here, only Tsuna remembered this guy was more of a healer rather than a fighter.

It wasn't like Tsuna was completely helpless. Getting transported to a different world didn't mean he forgot all his physical training. Sure, his Flames may not be working right now (as he had attempted in the past to activate them, only to be met with disappointment), but he still knew how to evade and deliver regular blows. He had kept up with his exercise however the sparring was nonexistent. His mom didn't like the thought that her _dear, adorable son_ was trying to do _combat. That's why we have Knights, Tsu-kun_ , she would giggle before ordering said Knights not to obey his requests for a spar.

 _It didn't matter,_ Tsuna thought, as Kyouya dodged Ryohei's tackle as well and aimed his daggers at Tsuna —

But a green, translucent circle of light that appeared in front of Tsuna blocked Kyouya's attack.

" _Yare yare,_ " Tsuna heard Lambo's voice from behind him. "What's all the commotion?"

"Remove the spell, Paladin," Kyouya growled at Lambo as he continued to strike at the circle of light in front of Tsuna. The circle of light, although translucent, was actually very solid and it was effective in blocking off Kyouya's attacks.

"Like I told you, you crazy bastard," Hayato appeared at Tsuna's side while glaring at Kyouya, "This guy is _friendly_. So stop attacking him."

"Besides he doesn't look like he has good drops anyway," Lambo yawned. "Why design a noble character wearing bunny-printed pajamas?"

Ryohei laughed. "About that — " He was interrupted when Kyouya tried to attack the green circle again.

At this point Hayato looked like he was going to cause some massive destruction with the way he was looking. "Don't you two read messages?! Seriously!"

Kyouya stopped and glared at Hayato. "It's a waste of time. Since I'm here, say it to my face."

Lambo walked around Tsuna as the green circle of light dissipated into the air. If Takeshi was clad in a full-plate armor, it was even more surprising to see Lambo wearing _more_ armor than Takeshi. Although, when Tsuna thought about it, it looks somewhat similar to his Vongola gear . . .

"Reading is boring," Lambo grumbled.

Hayato let out another sigh before taking out his map. "If those two were here . . . where the heck are they anyway?" He pulled open the map while Tsuna peeked. Tsuna could see blips of light congregated together, usernames hovering above them. _MaximumPower, Hibassassin, SirTakeshi, Feanor, AmazingLambo._ Then he saw another blip of light from the distance, with the username _Chrome_ , moving towards their little group.

Hayato looked displeased anyway. "One's missing . . . why?!" That one missing was definitely Mukuro, Tsuna thought, if the trend stayed the same.

Nobody had an answer.

"Whatever! Let's wait for the other one then I'm going to start the meeting," Hayato snarled as he tucked his map away.

Tsuna was still standing at the sides watching them. It was . . . a really nice image to see Hayato leading their group. Of course Tsuna knew _his_ Hayato had impeccable leadership and good decision-making skills; he wasn't his right-hand man for nothing. However, whenever Tsuna was around, the man would always relinquish the controls over to _him_. _You're the Boss, of course your decisions are more important, Jyuudaime. I will do anything for you, just say the word!_

So, the kind of situation that called for Hayato's leadership were the kinds that Tsuna _wasn't_ around.

Tsuna sealed his lips. He was a bystander.

"I think this guy's bugged," Lambo spoke all of a sudden as he reached out his hand and grabbed Tsuna's wrist. "It's just standing here."

"Bite it to death so it resets," Kyouya raised his daggers.

"No!" Hayato quickly interfered, stepping in front of Tsuna. "It's . . . he's different."

"Oh! I get it," Lambo nodded, his hand still on Tsuna's wrist, "He's a mercenary, right? But I've never seen a noble mercenary before. Is he following you, Takeshi-nii?"

Takeshi chuckled. "I hope so! But no."

"Ahoyato?"

"Stupid, don't call me that! And no!"

Lambo tilted his head. "What is he, then?"

"Oi!" Ryohei suddenly exclaimed in protest. "You're not going to ask me?"

"I already know you don't have the charisma to accomplish it," Lambo deadpanned.

Tsuna giggled. Lambo was capable of deadpan jokes!

At the next second, Tsuna quickly realized his mistake.

Lambo immediately released his wrist from his hand and stepped back. "He," Lambo turned to Hayato, "He laughed!"

Hayato, for the first time in the past few minutes, actually maintained his cool. "It's part of their idle animation. You know that."

Lambo frowned. "Yeah, but, it's just too coincidental! Kinda creepy."

For some reason or another, Kyouya suddenly had a look of curiosity mixed with malicious glee, something that Tsuna never really wanted to see on Kyouya's face. But there it was, accompanied with his own signature smirk, as he neatly stashed his daggers back in their sheaths. "Paladin," he began, stalking forward, "If you want to accomplish something, sometimes it's better to do it on your own."

Tsuna saw Hayato tense up. "Oi oi Hibari, what are you planning?"

"Watch."

Kyouya was suddenly a few centimeters from Tsuna's face. "You're a GM, aren't you?"

Tsuna stared back at Kyouya's eyes. It was a shade of steel gray, just as it had always been. But, as Tsuna kept reminding himself constantly in every minute and every second that passed, this Kyouya was not his Kyouya.

The guy continued. "That explains this ridiculous outfit." He was referring to Tsuna's bunny pajamas, apparently, which should have already been replaced with proper clothing if not for the fact three of the people here decided to make his bedroom an appropriate meeting place.

Tsuna heard Takeshi chuckle, although it was a little strained. "Hibari-san, GMs glow."

"Is it not?"

Nobody replied.

Takeshi laughed again, this time a little solemn. " _K_ _inda_ right, but it's a different kind of glow."

What the heck were they talking about? _Glowing_?

Hayato rubbed his face with his palm. "He's not a GM nor a player character, Hibari. If you read my messages, you'd know! The same goes for you, Lambo!"

"W-what?" Lambo sounded like he was about to cry.

"Kufufu, hitting on an NPC is a new low for you, _Hibassassin._ "

Tsuna tried his best to stay calm. He realized Mukuro was standing _just_ behind him, while Kyouya was almost on his face. Well, Tsuna knew these two sometimes didn't know the concept of personal space, but . . . and besides, he was expecting _Chrome_ to arrive, not Mukuro! Did his eyes deceive him when he was looking at the map?

Mukuro continued to talk. "I know you _love_ your lore and roleplaying, but I think there are limits to how much you can love this world, hmm?"

It was not enough to deter Kyouya as he continued to hover above Tsuna, even as he addressed Mukuro with his next sentence. "You talk too much, Rogue. This _NPC_ ," Tsuna felt a cold, pointed metal brush his chin — when did he even pull out his dagger? "Is obviously one of a kind. It leads me to believe it's either a GM in disguise or a _Boss_ -type." The guy smirked. "It does not look like a Boss."

Ryohei scoffed from behind Kyouya. "If you believe that, then you're pretty much threatening a GM right now, aren't you?!"

Kyouya chuckled a little. "Pretty much."

Lambo whined. "I don't want to get banned!"

"He's not a GM though," Takeshi sighed.

Mukuro giggled. "Indeed." Tsuna could see Mukuro's arm reach out and extend from behind him before Tsuna felt the dagger getting pushed out from under his chin, and Kyouya getting pushed back along with it. "Dear esteemed Hibassassin, if you would just use your Inspect skill, then there won't be any need for these dramatics. But fear not! I, _Chrome_ , have the results on hand."

"How dare you touch me," Kyouya growled before stepping to the side. "Prepare to get bitten to death." Then he went on to the offensive and rushed towards Mukuro. Tsuna had no idea what was happening behind him since he didn't want to turn around, but judging from the faces of these four other guys who were in front of him, they were probably at each other's throats.

During this time, Tsuna put together some pieces he managed to pick up. So Mukuro's username was _Chrome_. _He_ was the one going to their direction. But Hayato mentioned there was one other member . . .

"This always happens!" Hayato grumbled and sighed before turning to the other party members. "Whose turn is it today?"

"I think it's Nagi-nee's turn today," Lambo answered. "But she's not here."

Tsuna kept his mouth shut. So the other member was Chrome, or in this case, _Nagi._

Lambo was wrong though. She _was_ here. Tsuna knew the moment he felt something cold and dark pass by under his feet, not to mention the restrained noises from the two guys behind him.

"Mukuro-san, Hibari-san, please don't fight," Tsuna heard Nagi's meek voice from afar. "It's going to be expensive."

"Where were you?!" Hayato demanded.

"Good evening, Hayato-san," Nagi greeted him as she appeared besides Tsuna. "I didn't go offline . . . I was on my way here the entire time. The map doesn't show my location, for some reason."

"My, my, _Kuromu_ , still as strong as ever," Tsuna heard Mukuro laugh accompanied with grunting noises.

"Let go of me, you damn carnivore!" Kyouya yelled.

Ryohei let out a shudder. "And this is why I don't want to get on Nagi's bad side . . . "

Nagi smiled and continued to ignore the struggles of the two men from behind them. Then in a heartbeat, she turned to Tsuna, who thought his heart was about to jump out from his chest. "Is this him, Hayato-san?"

For some reason or another, Tsuna was even _more_ nervous right now than how he was when faced with Kyouya earlier. Chrome . . . _his_ Chrome had always been a shy and meek person. She preferred not to stand out much and always stayed at the sidelines. Even as they grew up and even after it was established that she was _the_ Mist Guardian, she had always been content with providing support and assistance from the background. On worst cases she lets Mukuro take over her position (not that it was wrong, since Mukuro himself also had the merit of being a Mist Guardian), but to be honest Tsuna wanted her to be more confident with her own abilities.

Witnessing _this_ right now, Kyouya and Mukuro powerless against her, and Ryohei acknowledging her abilities? It was a very touching scene for Tsuna. Unfortunately, this Chrome was not his Chrome, and they were in a video game . . .

If Tsuna was being rational and truthful, these people here were so uncannily similar to his Guardians, with the exception of Chrome; did that mean this Chrome was the first "anomaly"? If it was, he wondered if there was some relevance to his circumstance right now.

Then he saw Nagi wave her trident, and then two distinct sounds of objects dropping followed.

Which was quickly followed by two humanoid forms headed towards Nagi — and consequently blocked by the same green circle of light Tsuna saw earlier.

"Remove the spell, Paladin," Kyouya snarled as he continued swinging his daggers at Nagi and continued getting blocked by the circle of light. Tsuna had a sudden sense of _déjà vu_.

"Once in a while, it's healthy to have a duel against your partymates," Mukuro added as he, too, brandished a pair of _sai_ and was attacking Nagi relentlessly.

Nagi, on the other hand, remained standing still as the attacks were deflected by the circle of light. Then a much bigger dome of yellow light appeared, surrounding Nagi and catching Tsuna within it too.

"This is a serious waste of mana points," Ryohei complained.

"Haha yeah!" Takeshi laughed as he stood from a distance. "Hibari-san, Mukuro-san, even if you do get to hit Nagi-chan, what do you think will happen?"

"Just one stab," Mukuro chuckled.

"I'll bite her to death," Kyouya growled.

Hayato pinched the bridge of his nose. "This party's so hard to control . . ."

Tsuna felt a little sorry for Hayato, since he knew what it felt like leading his Guardians. Not that they were difficult. Nope.

"OH!" Ryohei suddenly exclaimed. "Kyoko called me for dinner!"

"NO! Meeting first!" Hayato panicked. "We're all here! So let's have that damn meeting!"

Lambo was already sitting on the floor, his horned helmet sitting beside him as he leaned against the wall. "I'm _so_ bored. I'm taking a nap."

"LAMBO —

Consequently, the circle of light and the dome of light vanished, giving Mukuro and Kyouya free reign on attacking Nagi. It seemed like Nagi was prepared though when a huge purple circle appeared from under her feet and wisps of shadows materialized from it. The shadowy wisps swished and flailed wildly, aiming for Kyouya, when the guy jumped backwards to avoid the attack. At the same time Nagi had swung her trident at Mukuro but he was able to block it with his sai before stepping back himself.

Tsuna was having some serious flashbacks. It wasn't everyday his Guardians fought against each other, but it always ended up a tragedy for the Vongola because of how much property damage they cause.

Meanwhile, Takeshi had seated himself beside Lambo and was watching the fight while laughing, Ryohei was still standing but unmoving (Tsuna thought he may be AFK), Lambo seemed to be AFK too and Hayato was busy scowling and muttering to himself.

It was then Tsuna decided that he was seriously, _seriously_ having none of these.

He walked away.

Nobody noticed.


End file.
